Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Organizing

Saturday morning started out as perfectly as a morning can. I slept in (until 7:30 am, which is about as much as I can handle), made tea and went back to bed and actually managed to read some poetry, an elusive pleasure lately. Mysteries and novels, yes. I fit those in on the bus and at the gym and while the Tour de France plays in the background and often while I stir something on the stove. Novels are great for multitasking. Poetry requires a bit more of you, more presence, more thought, more quiet.

But this isn't about poetry. Because after I read some poetry I realized that breakfast would be a logical next step and while I was trying to decide what to make (we were lacking milk and bread and many other breakfast things) I got distracted by the glass jars I'd purchased ages ago at the thrift store. Shouldn't they be filled already? So I filled them.

{organizing}

And the cupboard immediately looked so much better, cleared of a few boxes and bags. I had to keep going. At this point D came home from his bike ride and asked if I wanted to get lunch and I realized hours had passed and that I hadn't had breakfast yet.

{cupboards}

Sadly, I don't have a beautiful cupboard full of glass jars (yet) but I labeled all my plastic Ikea bins with a Sharpie. I'm sure it would have been more elegant to print out beautiful little labels for them, but the pen was handier. And if you're worrying that I've now irreversibly committed my containers to their contents, I'll let you in on a little secret - Sharpie is not totally permanent. On glass or plastic, a bit of isopropanol will wipe it right off. Isopropanol is the most common form of rubbing alcohol, so you might have some in your cupboard (but check and make sure - some rubbing alcohol is ethanol, which has no effect on marker). Obviously, if you have something you really love, check to make sure the alcohol will take the marker off before you start scribbling all over it.

In my dream life, everything is stored neatly in these Anchor Hocking Emma jars. I can't tell you how many times I've considered purchasing them, but I can't quite bring myself to do it because I already have something that works. So I just stare at them sometimes.

{anchor hocking emma jars - image from manufacturer}

I've almost talked myself into it. I mean, they're pretty great, right? Square bottoms, glass lids, come in different sizes (10 oz, 20 oz, 32 oz). I just hate buying something new to replace a system that is already functional. I'll report back on whether my willpower continues to hold out.

27 comments:

Well done on the organization front, R. Six impossible things before breakfast, indeed.

I can report having rid myself of all plastics soon after banishing my microwave a few years ago. For me, glass makes all the difference--it delights my senses to handle the jars, scoop grains, stare. It makes things feel more...permanent, somehow. Glass jars are, like poetry, worth making room for.

Whether or not you take the next step and switch to glass, I think you've made the biggest change already. It's so nice to look into your cupboards and see ingredients, not brand names or flashy marketing materials on the side of your flour or cereal.

Oh, thank you Rachel! I have been wanting some sort of "grease pencil" to label my glass jars and containers but Sharpies are so much more attainable! Excellent tip. Also, I hear ya on the trying not to buy something new to replace a system that is already working. I'm personally on a no-spend 2 years while we are paying off debt but I'm book marking those for later. So cute.

tell yourself that you'd rather your food be stored in glass than next to leaching plastic. That's what I tell myself, but transitioning to glass has still been slow. And I don't know of a glass container that will take 5kg of flour, plastic can be so darn practical sometimes.

gorgeous jars. who was it that said, "if you use it everyday, then it should be beautiful"? there are limits i think, but clearly you're in love. and i'm with hodge podge on the health & investment points too.

Crazy! I just did this last night (until 10:30). I bought a ton of glass jars from a place in the interwebs (http://www.containerandpackaging.com/FoodStorage/itemlist.asp?itemtype=Glass_jars_for_canning). You have to buy a case (6-12 jars) at a time (which can seem like a lot, but really, it is worth it.) I also bought a ton of little spice jars (4 ounces) and used a sharpie paint pen on them. Sorry for the long post, but I am just so pleased with the result and if you are in the market for glass jars this place is fabulous. They will even send you ten "sample jars" with your order, if you don't want to buy a case of something.

Funny you should mention reorganizing the pantry. I've been meaning to this past week, but didn't have the time. I had an mtg this morning that was rescheduled and I though, "Yes! Today is the day!!"- lol! I came to read a few blogs and Voila! Here you are giving me the inspiration I need :D Great job on the accomplishment. I know organizing/reorganizing can be overwhelming at times. Now go reward yourself with those beautiful glass jars you've had your eyes on for so long! Besides, it is a health investment ;D

I broke down and bought a couple cases of canning jars to store all my dry goods. It's amazing how much better everything looks when placed into jars. I have more to buy though because I need to transfer some lower volume things into small jars. I started to freak out about bug infestations and now it has become a top priority to get everything out of bags and boxes. Good luck with the willpower!

You know, I was just thinking yesterday that one of the reasons that I absolutely love your blog and ready it every day is because you have great taste and an amazing eye. Very true. But you are also realistic and sweet and seem like the type of person I would want to be my friend. Not someone who is putting up a front or makes me feel envious because I cant attain their lifestyle as portrayed on the interweb.

So basically this is a really long winded way of saying: sharpie on ikea containers rules.

I just organized my own pantry recently. It feels so nice when everything is all organized like that! And I have to say, I purchased new glass containers for Ikea, and just having them stare out at me all pretty-like is a simple pleasure.

Hooray for organizing! I've been doing the same around here lately, really feeling the summer cleaning bug. :) My mom uses those emma jars for her spices, they're wonderful! Easy to open and close, keeps everything fresh, and she's labeled them with clear labels on top so it looks pretty in the custom drawers she has in her kitchen. :)

What a coincidence - I just did that with my spices. I'd been meaning to forever, and I finally got around to it. I found little glass jars at Bed Bath & Beyond (SO not as cute as those Emma jars, and now I'm regretting) and I need to go back for more. The cabinet looks so much prettier!

What a gorgeous, organized pantry! It's very inspiring, nicely done. If you love class container filled pantry's you will love Emerson of Emersonmade's pantry. It's my HG. As seen on design sponge http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/03/sneak-peek-emersonmade-2.html/6_emerson

I'm very VERY lucky that I found a store here in Boston (China Fair) that has limited and changing stock of various sizes of the Bormioli-Rocco storage jars for very cheap...the 3L is $5.50, the 1L is $3.50, the 0.5L is $2.50. It's perfect for me. (I'm sending an email of my set-up as we speak, so you can see a picture).

Rachel, as far as spice jars go, I use these metal tins (stored in an old metal library card catalog from MIT's library):

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=39

I also bought the amber bottles to make homemade vanilla (just extract it in vodka). The tins are also nice because you can make your own teas or spice rubs or what have you as a gift (or if you have friends living abroad, send them hard-to-find spices!)

Affiliate Link Policy

Some posts on this blog contain Amazon affiliate links - I receive a (very) small commission on any purchases but I'm not paid to recommend any particular item and I'd never link to something I don't own and/or feel strongly about. I usually put the money towards my photo hosting but sometimes towards happy hour. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of affiliate links, you can open a new tab and search for the book/item by name. At this time, I do not have any sponsored posts or affiliate links from any service other than Amazon.